Small bookstore owners reflect on doing business in a small town
Exterior of Sandbox Bookstore in Moses Lake, owned by Mai Houvener and housed inside the Smith Martin Professional Building. Houvener makes use of the building’s conference room for community events like game days.
GABRIEL DAVIS/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Storefront of Downtown Wenatchee’s Ye Olde Bookshoppe, owned and operated solely by AnaMaree Ordway, who has run the store since 2015.
Mai Houvener, owner of Sandbox Bookstore in downtown Moses Lake, shows off one of the cloth carrying bags she sells in the store.
Bookshelves inside Moses Lake’s Sandbox Bookstore, which sells used and new books as well as games and toys. The store’s owner, Mai Houvener, said it is difficult to compete with larger retailer’s prices, marketing, and online inventory.
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake’s Sandbox Bookstore owner Mai Houvener and Wenatchee’s Ye Olde Bookshoppe owner AnaMaree Ordway discussed what it’s like to operate a bookstore in a smaller town while competing with larger retailers.
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